The Cleveland Cavaliers have spent years playing in their current arena, the RocketMortgage Field House. It’s the congregation point for Cleveland basketball fans, as they became 2016 NBA Champions while playing on this court. However, the court is elevated 10 inches off the ground and has been criticized for being an injury hazard this season.
The Athletic’s Law Murray shared a video showing the 10-inch elevation on the court while discussing how dangerous closing out on a three-pointer could be if the player fell off the side.
Most dangerous closeout in the league pic.twitter.com/mERg5zpO0t
— Law Murray ❓ (@LawMurrayTheNU) January 29, 2024
We have already seen a season-ending injury occur on the Cavaliers court this season. Miami Heat guard Dru Smith earned a spot on the Heat roster and was playing serviceable minutes for the team at guard. But during a game against the Cavaliers, Smith managed to trip on a piece of paper and have his foot land outside the 10-inch elevation. This led to an ACL tear for the young guard, who will not play again this season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_QxtUjjVDk
There aren’t any superstar names that have gotten hurt on this court, but it is an accident waiting to happen. The Cavaliers will argue that they’ve had this design for a very long time and nobody has cared before, but with Smith’s injury and the possibility of more players getting hurt, the NBA may have to step in.
LeBron James And Erik Spoelstra Have Previously Criticized The Cavaliers’ Court
LeBron James played on the Cavaliers for a combined 11 seasons over two stints with the franchise. The Cavaliers have played on this court, in this arena, for 30 years, and are resistant to change. After James saw Dru Smith’s injury, he kept it simple by saying he thinks the NBA needs to look into the court design.
“Yes, the league should look at it. They should address it.”
Erik Spoelstra defended his player aggressively, calling the court design ‘an accident waiting to happen’.
“It’s a dangerous floor. I don’t know the history of injuries here but we’ve had a couple of near scares in previous years when guys are closing out in that corner. Thankfully, nobody’s been injured before but it’s an accident waiting to happen. You close out and all of a sudden, you’re going off a cliff. It’s just so dangerous. As soon as he stayed down, we all knew that’s probably what happened.”
Dru Smith got hurt on this court in November and nobody said anything about it except these comments in the immediate aftermath. Hopefully, Law Murray’s video leads to some more action against the Cavs for having such a court. If they can’t figure out how to use the arena for ice hockey and basketball without creating such a dangerous dilemma, the team should consider making some serious changes.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
